Effectiveness of Kinesio Taping as an Adjunct to Conservative Treatment in Women With Lipedema

October 30, 2026 updated by: Hatice Zehra FERHATLAR

Effectiveness of Kinesio Taping as an Adjunct to Conservative Treatment in Women With Stage II Lipedema: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial

This prospective, randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of kinesio taping as an adjunct to standard conservative treatment in women with stage II lower-extremity lipedema.

A total of 30 women will be randomly assigned to two groups: a control group receiving standard conservative treatment and an intervention group receiving kinesio taping in addition to standard conservative treatment. Both groups will receive patient education, physical activity recommendations, and a standardized home exercise program. The intervention group will additionally receive bilateral lower-extremity kinesio taping twice weekly for six weeks.

Participants will be assessed at baseline, week 6 (end of treatment), and week 10 (four-week follow-up). The primary outcome will be the change in pain intensity measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) at week 6. Secondary outcomes will include lower-extremity functional status (LEFS), quality of life (EQ-5D-3L), walking performance (4-meter walk test), lower-extremity circumference measurements, and pressure pain threshold assessed using an algometer.

The study aims to determine whether adding kinesio taping to standard conservative treatment provides additional clinical benefits in women with lipedema.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Istanbul
      • Küçükçekmece, Istanbul, Turkey (Türkiye), 34307
        • Recruiting
        • Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training and Research Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

**Inclusion Criteria:**

  • Female participants aged 18-65 years.
  • Clinical diagnosis of stage II bilateral lower-extremity lipedema.
  • Ability to walk independently.
  • Ability and willingness to comply with the treatment and assessment schedule throughout the study.
  • Provision of written informed consent.

**Exclusion Criteria:**

  • Presence of primary or secondary lymphedema or lipolymphedema.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  • Active infection, cellulitis, open wounds, or active dermatological disease in the areas where kinesio taping will be applied.
  • Known allergy or hypersensitivity to kinesio tape or its adhesive components.
  • Active deep vein thrombosis or thromboembolic disease.
  • Severe neurological, rheumatological, or orthopedic disorders that may significantly affect lower-extremity function or walking performance.
  • Severe cardiac, renal, or hepatic failure.
  • Lipedema-related surgery or liposuction within the previous three months.
  • Concurrent participation in another intensive physical therapy or manual lymphatic drainage program that may affect study outcomes.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Conservative Treatment + Kinesio Taping
Procedure: Kinesio Taping

Kinesio taping will be applied bilaterally to the lower extremities of participants in the experimental group twice weekly for six weeks, for a total of 12 applications. Kinesio taping will be administered in addition to standard conservative treatment.

Behavioral: Standard Conservative Treatment

Standard conservative treatment will consist of patient education regarding lipedema and symptom management, physical activity recommendations, and a standardized lower-extremity home exercise program. This treatment will be provided to participants in both groups during the six-week intervention period.
Active Comparator: Conservative Treatment Alone
Behavioral: Standard Conservative Treatment

Standard conservative treatment will consist of patient education regarding lipedema and symptom management, physical activity recommendations, and a standardized lower-extremity home exercise program. This treatment will be provided to participants in both groups during the six-week intervention period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in Pain Intensity Measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) Score
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Change in Health-Related Quality of Life Measured by EQ-5D-3L
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Change in Walking Performance Assessed by the 4-Meter Walk Test
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Change in Lower Extremity Circumference Measurements
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Change in Pressure Pain Threshold (PPT) Measured by Algometry
Time Frame: Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10
Baseline (week 0), week 6, and week 10

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Hatice Zehra FERHATLAR

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 31, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 15, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 15, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

November 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 30, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • LIPE-KT-2026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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